John Dudley: Lewis' timing turned out to be brilliant, not risky

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- Never underestimate the power of emotion in sports, even in the NFL.

Although some people questioned why Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis would announce his retirement at the end of the playoffs as Baltimore prepared for its wild-card game against the Colts, Lewis knew exactly what he was doing.

Far from the distraction some suggested it might become, Lewis' pending departure became a rallying point for a Ravens team that appeared to be going through the motions following a 9-3 start that dissolved into a 10-6 finish.

Let's not forget this is the same team the Steelers beat 23-20 in Baltimore in Week 13 with Charlie Batch at quarterback, no LaMarr Woodley and Ike Taylor playing only about a quarter before leaving with what became a season-ending injury.

The difference: The Ravens have played with fire and a purpose in the postseason.

No matter what you think of him, Lewis is largely responsible for that.

- Peyton Manning lobbied Pro Bowl players last week to go hard Sunday with the league reportedly considering scrapping the game altogether.

That comes on the heels of lackluster recent Pro Bowl performances that sometimes looked more like walk-throughs than NFL football.

The Pro Bowl represents a dilemma for the league. It's an annual, made-for-television showcase with ratings that surpass those of any other major professional all-star game. The players and their families love spending a week in Hawaii on someone else's dime.

But it's also an unnecessary opportunity for players to suffer a serious injury at a time when the NFL is facing lawsuits over concussions and the long-term effects of repeated collisions.

- Speaking of the Pro Bowl, the NFC's first snap was the perfect microcosm of Drew Brees' season.

Bress put the ball right into the hands of Adrian Peterson, the 2,097-yard rusher who fumbled only four times in 348 carries this season, and Peterson dropped it.

The turnover set up an AFC touchdown.

It had to be a familiar, painful feeling for Brees, who gets to spend the rest of the week watching the 49ers and Ravens prepare for Super Bowl XLVII in his home stadium after the Saints' season was wrecked by commissioner Roger Goodell's bounty suspensions.

- We'll hear a lot more this week about the decisions by Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh to dump their starting quarterback and offensive coordinator, respectively, yet still reach the Super Bowl.

Don't expect this to become a trend, even in the copycat NFL. But it might at some point cause some coach of a contending team to be a little less hesitant to make a critical in-season personnel move, something most are loathe to do for fear of upsetting locker room chemistry.

- Maybe it was a little corny, but I liked watching NFC and Packers center Jeff Saturday switch teams for one play to deliver a final snap to Manning, his longtime quarterback in Indianapolis.

That alone, along with Saturday's genuinely misty-eyed reaction in an interview with Doug Flutie, made this year's Pro Bowl worth watching.